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FAA Officially Allows Airlines to Expand Use of Personal Electronics on Commercial Flights
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"Usually" a few minutes affair? Most people don't 'hang out' on their phones for hours either. If you haven't experienced two people talking loudly during an entire 2+ hour flight--either next to you or behind you--then you just haven't quite flown enough yet. Give it some time. Next thing you're going to tell me is that the screaming baby on a flight is just a myth...
What does that have to do with anything? I'm a tech person but able to identify when it's socially acceptable to use one. I just don't see the correlation there.
They either need to allow PED usage under 10,000 feet, or... Allowing PEDs is probably going to be the more popular option
YES! This x1000!
*rapidly and repeatedly clicks "up vote"*
*checks elevation for mountain stages of Tour de France*
-Lance Armstrong
/low hanging fruit
It really is pathetic that people can't go without there devices, it's more about people paying attention to safety briefings they sit there ignoring the info given to them believing they know everything already, but then proceed to have no idea even when the seat belt signs are on!? Letting them use there phones even more beggars belief
This is fantastic news! As a frequent flyer, these rules have always been rather annoying.
I read somewhere that every domestic flight has, on average, 3 cell phones that are still completely powered on and transmitting.
I read somewhere that every domestic flight has, on average, 3 cell phones that are still completely powered on and transmitting.
Srsly?It really is pathetic that people can't go without there devices, it's more about people paying attention to safety briefings they sit there ignoring the info given to them believing they know everything already, but then proceed to have no idea even when the seat belt signs are on!? Letting them use there phones even more beggars belief
If you've been on an airplane any time in the last 20 years, you already know all the information they give you during that safety briefing. The people who travel regularly for work (or whatever reason) can probably recite this safety speech by memory.
The difference is people tend to speak louder on Skype
HELLO! CAN YOU HEAR ME?? IS MY VOICE BETTER NOW? OH MY GOD IS THAT RACHEL? SHE'S ALL GROWN UP NOW!
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Turn on Airplane Mode, then turn on WiFi.
It really is pathetic that people can't go without there devices, it's more about people paying attention to safety briefings they sit there ignoring the info given to them believing they know everything already, but then proceed to have no idea even when the seat belt signs are on!? Letting them use there phones even more beggars belief
Everyone doesn't have that problem. I fly a lot and welcome this change. Means I get to listen to music during taxi and safety briefings, which I've had for every conceivable commercial airplane anyway. First thing I ever do when getting in my seat is putting the seat belt on. When you travel alone all the time, earbuds is a must!
The noise cancelling headphones I use were a worthwhile investment. And now I can keep them on the entire flight even though they have an on/off switch.
I've been doing this with my scanner since 2000. Yes, a scanner, as I like listening to ATC (student pilot and huge fan of LiveATC.net). Scanners don't transmit either, nor have they ever interfered with the flight deck or pilot to ATC communications.
WiFi has always been up to the discretion of the airline, just like your personal router and WiFi connection. They know what to allow and block, as it has its own firewall.
You actually have to possess the personal and social skills to talk to the person next to you; something that is slowly dying, thanks to texting, Facebook, and smartphones.
for departures, once the door is shut, you can't pull them out or do anything with them at all until you've reached 10000ft MSL. For arrivals, they tell you when you have to stow them away and can't be used until you've rolled out, exited the runway, and the FA tells you you can use them.
That would be part of the crew member instructions you are required to comply with, per the FARs. I'll look up which section, but I believe it is either in Part 91 or Part 121.
Not really.. you're making it harder than it really appears.
Every flight I've been on, they've only allowed what they have for their entertainment, port 80, and port 443. Nothing else. Again, varies from airline to airline. But most block the ports VOIP apps like Skype, Facetime, Vonage, Fring, etc., use.
Yes, they do. They have a FAQ in their inflight magazines as to what is allowed if WiFi is available on their flight. This is why it is up to the carriers to get their butts in gear.
BL.
It really is pathetic that people can't go without there devices, it's more about people paying attention to safety briefings they sit there ignoring the info given to them believing they know everything already, but then proceed to have no idea even when the seat belt signs are on!? Letting them use there phones even more beggars belief
See, what's completely dense about these comments is that during a flight (when you are trapped and cramped) is the BEST time ever created for using an electronic device to read or play music or whatever. Many people have bought portable DVD players, Kindles, etc for the explicit purpose of giving them something to do during this complete "down-time" on a plane.
Now, you want to make this comment about a specific time in everyone's life to NOT use devices? How about when driving. I'll support that completely.
Because between the microphone picking up the engine noise, the latency and general slowness and unreliability of airplane WiFi, there's going to be a lot of "WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU! CAN YOU REPEAT THAT! SORRY, YOU'RE BREAKING UP, I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU JUST SAID!" that you don't have when conversing with a seat mate.
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It really is pathetic that people can't go without there devices, it's more about people paying attention to safety briefings they sit there ignoring the info given to them believing they know everything already, but then proceed to have no idea even when the seat belt signs are on!? Letting them use there phones even more beggars belief
Preventing device use isn't going to prevent people from ignoring the safety briefing. I ignore them just fine without listening to music. I've flown enough that I could probably give the safety demo.
An example of my experience is two guys sitting immediately behind me, a little boozed up probably, talking loudly to each other like long lost friends. The entire flight. I don't know how annoying that is for you but I find that just as annoying as what you've described. Do my noise-cancelling headphones save the day? Nope. They perform wonderfully in drowning out the engine noise so that I can hear their conversation crystal clear.
Yes, but if you're absorbed in your electronic device at that time, you won't hear any of that information. And you won't hear the opportunity to buy a cheap pair of airline headphones.
Actually, scanners do transmit, albeit at a very low power level. All superheterodyne receivers have local oscillators.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_oscillator
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheterodyne_receiver
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheterodyne_receiver#Local_oscillator_radiation
Depending on the level of shielding in your receiver, the sensitivity of the other receiver, and the selectivity of the other receiver, it can potentially interfere with another receiver's reception.
Many years ago, I picked up a spurious signal in the 144 MHz band while tuning my SSB transceiver: a periodic "chirp". After doing some investigation, I realized that the interval between the chirps was the same as the interval my scanner required to scan all the programmed channels. I turned off the scanner, and the chirp disappeared.
Interestingly enough, there IS a difference:
http://healthland.time.com/2013/03/14/why-overheard-cell-phone-conversations-are-so-annoying/
I fly Delta multiple times a week, every week, and agree it's a huge deal, and very welcome. Maybe this is airline specific since I've only flown Delta the last 17 years, and you're right about after the door closes on push back, but they DO currently allow devices to be on as soon as the wheels touch at landing.
Not below 10000ft, and in many commuter flights this eats up half of the flight or more.
So just to clarify, all that has changed here is that you can use electronic devices during take off and landing as well as during the flight? Because I have been flying for years, and usually about 10 minutes after take off until about 20 minutes before landing, we were allowed to use "approved electronic devices", which I thought included phones and tablets on airplane mode. So I guess the only thing this rule changes is that now we can use our devices at any time? A welcome change no doubt, but nothing earth shattering.
